'Bitcoin creator' Craig Yeah Wright in meltdown

The creator of Craig Wright, Craig Wright, has managed to stay in the news for a fourth day: this time for having a depressingly inevitable meltdown following his failure, yet again, to prove he is the inventor of digi-currency bitcoin.

Earlier this week, the Australian went direct to three UK media outlets -– the BBC, Economist and GQ – with "proof" that he was in fact Satoshi Nakamoto, the secretive creator of the currency.

But, for the second time in six months, those claims were quickly debunked and Wright was, once again, the target of online mockery. His response was to promise journalists that he would provide "extraordinary evidence" the very next day.

But, of course, that proof never arrived. And that's despite the fact that the effort required to actually prove he is Nakamoto would be significantly less than the time and energy he has spent so far pushing his widely derided efforts.

Instead of the proof, Wright took down his website and posted a message that reflects his unusual, delusional and misleading mindset.

"I'm sorry," reads the first line, before Yeah Wright embarks on an obtuse, self-pitying ramble in which he continues to suggest that he really is Satoshi Nakamoto but that he does "not have the courage" to actually prove it:

I believed that I could do this. I believed that I could put the years of anonymity and hiding behind me. But, as the events of this week unfolded and I prepared to publish the proof of access to the earliest keys, I broke.

It's a masterclass in manipulation: never admitting fault, skirting obvious questions, blaming others for his actions and playing on people's emotions in an effort to explain away his own deeds:

When the rumors began, my qualifications and character were attacked. When those allegations were proven false, new allegations have already begun. I know now that I am not strong enough for this.

And on throwing two respected bitcoin folk who backed up his claims under the bus, Wright writes: "I can only hope that their honour and credibility is not irreparably tainted by my actions. They were not deceived, but I know that the world will never believe that now."

The plea, as clever as it is, is transparently false: Craig Wright is not Satoshi Nakamoto. Why he wants people to believe he is, well, that's something for him and his therapist to figure out.

It has been a week in which people have continued to be baffled by the actions of a man exhibiting a rare personality type. Psychologists are adding pictures of Craig Wright to their Powerpoint presentations as we speak.

As for the man himself, his final untruth comes at the end of his online message. "Goodbye," he writes.

But Craig Wright is not going anywhere. If we never hear from him again it will be because media outlets have learnt their lesson and refuse to provide the oxygen of publicity that he clearly finds so intoxicating.

Sayonara, Mr Wright. ®